Register.



No. 779,056. v PATENTED JAN. 3, 1905. J. A. TILDEN.

REGISTER.

APPLICATION IILEi) JULY 11,1904.

WITNESSES. INVENTOR Qfgf M JarraesA. YZ'ZcZen UNITED STATES PatentedJanuary 3, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES A. TILDEN, OF HYDEPARK, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HERSEYMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SOUTI BOSTON, MAS- SACHUSETTS, A CORPORATIONOF MAINEQ REGISTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 779,056, dated January3, 1905.

Application filed July 11, 1904:. Serial No. 216,108-

To ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES A. TILDEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hydepark, in the county of Norfolk and State ofMassachusetts, (whose post-office address is as above,) have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Registers, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to registers, it being particularly adapted for usein connection with water-meters. Apparatus of this character isfrequently employed under such conditions that the index membersrepresenting the highest integers are moved only after considerableintervals, and since the interiors of the registers are more or lessexposed to the influence of moisture and liable to become corroded thiscauses their associated gearing to stick and fail to register. Toprevent this by maintaining a constant movement between said gearing andits support during the operation of the register is the principal objectof my invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of oneembodiment of my invention, parts being broken away; and Fig. 2 is asimilar view looking from the right in Fig. 1.

Similar characters of reference indicate like parts throughout bothfigures of the drawings.

The numerals and 11 designate lower and upper register-plates,respectively, which are shown as separated by suitable posts 12. Througha bearing 13 in the lower plate extends a driving-spindle 14, which alsohas a bearing in the upper plate and projects through the same, it beingprovided at its outer end with an index-hand 15. Upon this spindle,adjacent to the inner side of the plate 11, is secured a gear 16, whichmeshes with a pinion 17, fast upon a shaft 18, journaled in the platesand carrying a worm 19. Meshing with the worm is a gear 20, fixed uponan index-shaft 21, which is preferably rotatably mounted in brackets 2222, secured near opposite sides of the plate 10. Mounted upon the shaft21 is a series of index members or wheels having numerals visiblethrough an opening 22 in the upper plate in the ordinary manner, thatindicated by the numeral 23 representing the units and lying next to thegear and being fast upon the shaft. The remaining wheels 24 turn looselyupon the shaft, and each wheel, beginning with the inner side of theunitswheel, has a depression formed between walls 25 25, extendingoutwardly from the edge of a disk 26 and corresponding to two teeth of amutilated gear. Upon the opposite side of each adjacent wheel isfastened a continuous gear 27.

Extending in proximity with the edges of the index-wheels and beingconveniently journaled in the brackets 22 is a gear-shaft 28, carryinglooseupon it and interposed between the index-wheels gearing members G,having two sections, (designated as 29 and 30.) The first of these hasquite widely separated teeth adapted to engage the walls 25, and betweenthese teeth are spaces to receive the edge of the disk. The second is inthe form of a pinion meshing with the gear 27. This gearing operates tosuccessively advance each wheel one division for a complete rotation ofthe preceding wheel to register the number of rotations of thedriving-spindle in a manner now perfectly familiar in the art and whichneed not be particularly described. It will be evident that in theabsence of some special provision the last member Cr will rotate uponthe supporting-shaft only after what may be a very long interval, inwhich the parts might become stuck together and the register madeinoperative. I render the introduction of such a defect impossible byproviding means for constantly rotating the shaft 28 during theoperation of the register, this means preferably consisting of a pinion31, here shown as having a hub 32, fixed upon the shaft in anyconvenient manner, it being here illustrated as sweat thereto, the layerof solder being indicated at 33. This pinion in the present instancemeshes with the gear 20, which is always in operation during themovement of the driving-spindle. In this manner the shaft 28 is rotatedwithin all the gearing members G upon even the slightest movement of theregister mechanism and all danger of sticking by corrosion or otherwiseis obviated.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. A register comprisingmovable index members, a shaft situated adjacent thereto, gearingfor theindex members rotatable about the shaft, and means for continuouslyrotating said shaft during any movement of the index members.

2; A register comprising a shaft, a plurality of index members movableabout the shaft, a shaft journaled adjacent to the index members,gearing for the index members rotatable about the last-named shaft, andcontinuously-coacting gears fixed to the index-shaft and the gearshaftrespectively.

3. A register comprising a shaft, a plurality of index-wheels mountedupon the shaft, inter- July, 1904.

JAMES A. TlLDEN. Vitnesses:

FRANCIS C. HnRsuY, Jr., HENRY D. WINTON.

